[DISCLOSURE – PLEASE READ: The team at Abbott reached out to me and asked if I’d like to trial the Freestyle Libre system. I said yes. After my doctor approved a prescription for the device, Abbott sent out the 14 day system to me, which included a scanner and three sensors. This whole review needs that bias lens in place. Good?…
Disclosure: I received my Dexcom G6 as part of the initial PR roll out, once it was approved and available. I am also part of the Dexcom Warriors program. But my supplies all go through insurance and my deductible is gross. For more on my disclosures, click here. I wasn’t home when my Dexcom G6 kit arrived at the…
Thirty-one years ago, I was checking my blood sugar with this giant lancing device, using a heavy brick of a glucose meter, and chasing my blood sugars with Regular and NPH insulin. If you told me that the future of diabetes would include streaming video of where my blood sugars have been and where they might be headed, I’d have…
Managing Expectations with the Freestyle Libre System
Blood Sugars, Diabetes Products, Diabetes Tech[DISCLOSURE – PLEASE READ: The team at Abbott reached out to me and asked if I’d like to trial the Freestyle Libre system. I said yes. After my doctor approved a prescription for the device, Abbott sent out the scanning device and two sensors at no cost to me. This whole review needs that bias lens in place. Good? Good….
“Rotating sites? Hell yeah, I rotate.” … sort of. I’m good about rotating my pump and CGM (continuous glucose monitor) sites, but I’m decent, at best, about exploring new real estate. Most of the time, I use my outer thigh or lower back/hips for my CGM, going back and forth between those four areas. This sounds like proper rotating, in…
In almost ten years of using a CGM, I’ve never, ever had this happen. This morning, when I went to insert a new Dexcom sensor, I followed all the usual protocol: Put a Toughpad down against clean skin, place the sensor adhesive against the Toughpad, and then insert the sensor right through into my skin, allowing the giant needle to…
Longest Dexcom Break in Six Years.
Dexcom, Diabetes and Emotions, Psychosocial Support, Real Life Diabetes, Robot Life“Is it because of the skin thing?” he asked, watching me put the transmitter and receiver on the bedroom dresser. “Yeah,” I replied, only it wasn’t exactly the truth. Sure, my skin had some pretty irritated patches from the constant application/reapplication of my CGM sensors, but it was manageable, especially if I was more diligent about rotating my sites. But…
Stress!!!! and Diabetes.
Blood Sugars, Diabetes and Emotions, Diabetes Videos, Real Life Diabetes, TravelingDo your blood sugars respond to food? Of course. How about to insulin? And exercise? A big “hell yes” to those, too. Food, insulin, and exercise have tangible influence on my blood sugar levels. But one influencer that I don’t often take into account is stress … which is a ridiculous variable for me to ignore because stress can make…
First this: Then this: So whoa! Much woe. You might also like: Hypoglycemic Blues. Lower Arm Real Estate. Dexcom Real Estate: Lower Back Edition. Circle.
The itch started back in July 2012, when I pulled off a Dexcom sensor and saw a prickly, hive-ish rash underneath where the sensor and transmitter had been placed. Blaming it on the summer heat and the recycled, dry air of airplane cabins, I figured it was a one-time thing and I’d be sorted out on the following sensor placement….
When the “circle” popped off my Dexcom receiver last week, a thread in the discussion on that post highlighted the mystery of the “right button.” As in, what the hell does it do? And it’s taken me until today to realize that I use the right button all the time, or at least have the option to use the right…
Yesterday afternoon, when I went to calibrate my Dexcom, the wheel-o-everything (that wheel on the right hand side of the receiver that is used to calibrate, view the graph, set alarms … everything) made a very soft clicking sound, not unlike the sound my old computer made when I pressed on the F key and then it came loose off…
I feel like the beginning of Diabetes Blog Week had so many prompts that really tapped the emotionally-saturated side of my diabetes management that I’m spent. But I didn’t want to phone it in today for the last weekday post, so I’m pulling myself up by the bloggy bootstraps and putting my hacker hat on. (Damn, Gina – that sounds…
For the better part of the last seven years, I’ve been wearing my continuous glucose monitor sensor on my outer thigh. I rotate this site in terms of not placing the next sensor right on top of where the old one was, but for the most part, my legs dominated CGM real estate choices, and I liked it that way….
Guest Post: Crusading for CGM Coverage.
Dexcom, Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes Community, Diabetes Online Community, Guest Diabetes Blogger, Healthcare, Robot LifeI’ve used a Dexcom continuous glucose monitor (from the 3-day STS system to the G4 Platinum) since 2006, and the positive influence it has had on my diabetes management and overall quality of life is undeniable. But as it stands now, when I reach the Medicare age, my coverage for CGM use will be denied. Susan Berger, an advocate and…